Found and Lost
by lucidscreamer
Summary: Prequel to Shadows on the Nile. Sugoroku Mutou makes the find of a lifetime, but loses his freedom in the process. Vignette.


Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. The _Shadows on the Nile_ alternate universe is the creation of Lucidscreamer.

Found and Lost

A Prequel Story to _Shadows on the Nile  
_A _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ fan fiction story by Lucidscreamer

Sugoroku Mutou was struggling by the time he reached the crevice hidden behind a tumbled pile of flood debris, great boulders and smaller rocks that some rare flashflood had deposited in this deserted _wadi_. Panting, he stopped for a moment in the meager shade of the rocky overhang that shielded the crevice and made it seem smaller than it actually was. His hands shook as he unstopped his canteen and took a long swig of the tepid water inside. His thirst quenched, he returned the canteen to his belt, then stooped to crawl through the narrow opening that was almost invisible from all but his current position. His back scraped the jagged stone at the top of the opening, but determination drove him onward.

Beyond the opening was a cramped cavity. For the first few feet, he had to scramble over stone rubble, more ancient flood debris that almost filled the entrance of the small cave. In several places, the low ceiling forced him to inch along on his stomach, squirming forward using his arms to pull himself forward and pushing with his feet. Sweat poured off him as the stale air of the cave closed in around him. The heat was even worse in these close quarters, but he persevered, only having to stop a few times to catch his breath.

His colleagues said he was too old to do this kind of fieldwork, but he refused to listen to them. If he had allowed the opinions of others to rule him, he would have given up his dreams of validating his theories about the so-called "Millennium Items" a long time ago. He would've retired and joined his grandson's gaming company, as Yugi kept asking him to. Maybe once he had proven his theories were true he would take Yugi up on his generous offer. It might be fun to settle down back home in Domino City and run a game shop for a while.

For now, he concentrated on the task at hand: getting the object he had come to believe lay hidden in this out of the way cave. Once past the debris, he sat up and switched on his flashlight. The beam cut through the gloom, showing him rough rock walls riddled with cracks and jagged breaks that darted like petrified lightning from ceiling to floor. He huffed a weary sigh. This could take awhile.

Resolutely, he began to examine every crevice, shining his light in to - he hoped - frighten off any snakes or scorpions that might make their home inside, before easing his hand in to feel for the thing he so desperately wanted to find.

The right-hand wall yielded nothing but scraped fingers and loose stones.

Doubt began to assail him again. What if Dr. Viridian was right, and he was risking his reputation - and his life - for nothing but a dream as ephemeral as any desert mirage?

Sugoroku shook his head. He _wasn't_ wrong. He knew it, with every fiber of his being. He had studied every esoteric paper on the subject, tracked down even the most tentative lead in the most obscure papyri or inscriptions, and collected all the data available. And it all pointed to one inescapable conclusion: the Millennium Items were real. And he was going to be the one to prove it.

The back of the cave was too low for him to stand, so he knelt, the uneven floor digging painfully into his already sore knees. Reaching up over his head, he abandoned caution to blindly shove his hands into the narrow gaps in the rock near the ceiling. His fingers scrabbled over the few bits of detritus inside, loose stone flakes cutting his skin and raining down on his hastily lowered head. His shoulders burned, sweat trickled down the back of his neck... then his fingers brushed something smooth and regular, a man-made object that felt like metal beneath his groping hand.

This was it! Excitement coursed through him, chasing away all his aches and pains in a bright rush of adrenaline. Shaking with tension, his breath coming in quick pants, he inched the object free of its hiding place. It came loose with a suddenness that dumped him on his rear. He sat on the stone floor of the cave, the object clasped to his chest, and laughed like a loon.

Recovering his flashlight, he examined his find. It was a small box, a little bigger than his outstretched hand from wrist to middle fingertip. In the yellow beam of the flashlight, it glowed like the sun. _Gold_... and, from the weight, which was far out of proportion to the box's size, solid rather than thin gilding over wood. Reverently, he ran his hands over the box, tracing the delicate hieroglyphs carved into the surface. The light was too dim for him to read them, but he knew what they would say. On the front of the box, a large Egyptian eye - an _udjat_ - seemed to gaze back at him, appearing to wink as the light reflected off the metal. With trembling hands, he lifted the lid. Inside, as he had known they must, rested the pieces of a complex puzzle. A huge grin blossomed across his face. He had found his proof.

The Millennium Puzzle. Everyone said it was nothing but a legend, like the mythical king to whom it was supposed to have belonged. But Sugoroku had known it was more than that - and now he held it in his hands. Not even the eminent Dr. Daniel Viridian would be able to deny that Sugoroku's theory was right when Sugoroku lay the Puzzle before him as evidence. And Yugi would be so proud! For a moment, Sugoroku the emotional overload so overwhelmed him that he felt himself shaking.

Then it hit him, with a force that sent his heart hammering with sudden fear. _He_ wasn't shaking. _The cave was_.

_Crash!_ Rocks slammed into the ground behind him with a deafening roar. The cave floor groaned and shifted alarmingly. His light flickered and went out, leaving him panting in the darkness. He clutched the precious box to his chest and struggled back the way he had come. What if falling boulders blocked the entrance? What if the cave collapsed, trapping him, turning his moment of triumph to one of doom?

Without warning, the ground gave way beneath him. He cried out, one arm flailing for a handhold. Miraculously, he found one. Body dangling over the new drop, he hung by one hand from the lip of rock. With the other, he held onto the box. If he was going to die, he was taking his precious find with him.

The earth shook again. Rocks shrieked from the strain as they broke loose and smashed down all around him. One struck his shoulder, knocking his precarious grip free. As he plummeted into the Stygian darkness, he thought he heard something - a deep voice that seemed to resonate directly in his mind while bypassing his ears.

_I have been waiting for you, Siamun_.

Then the darkness caught him, and all was silent.

-o0o-

* * *

That's the end of this little vignette. To find out what happens next, please read _Shadows on the Nile_. The link is on my profile page (look for the "Eternal Nile" series for links to all the current stories in this alternate universe).

(If this looks familiar, that's because it used to be the prologue of SotN. I felt that the difference between the more serious tone of the prologue and the lighter, more romantic and humorous tone of the main story - plus the difference in POV - was confusing to some readers.)


End file.
